Cyber-Bullying Among University Students: An Empirical Investigation from the Social Cognitive Perspective

10.6702/ijbi.2013.8.1.2

Sophia Bo Xiao；Yee-Man Wong

Cyber-bullying ； bullying ； social cognitive theory ； motivation ； aggression

International Journal of Business and Information

8卷1期（2013 / 06 / 01）

34 - 69

英文

Rising incidents of, and tragedies from, cyber-bullying have alerted researchers, educators, government officials, and parents to the severe consequences of this new form of bullying. Existing research on cyber-bullying is mostly conducted without sound theoretical foundation. In addition, previous studies focus on children and adolescents; there is a paucity of empirical examination of cyber-bullying behavior among university students. Drawing from social cognitive theory and focusing on university students, this study hypothesizes about, and empirically tests the effects of, personal and environmental factors on the likelihood for university students to perform cyber-bullying behavior. The results from a survey of university students in Hong Kong reveal that social norms, as well as personal factors such as Internet self-efficacy, motivations, and cyber-victimization experience, are strong predictors of university students' cyber-bullying behavior. This study not only enriches our understanding of determinants of cyber-bullying behavior by university students but also provides valuable insights to educators, government officials, and parents.

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